Month: September 2017

“Without the friendly and professional support, I have received over the years from Payroll Masters, I would not have been able to live independently and would be in a residential home.”

That’s what our client Ian told us when we caught up with him to see how Direct Payments and our support to manage his DP has contributed to his independent living journey:

Payroll Masters has been supporting Ian, a Direct Payments employer since July 2013. He is now approaching the fourth anniversary of being awarded his DP and embarking on the journey of being both an employer and most importantly being independent.

After a bad fall, which left Ian severely brain damaged, paralysed on one side of his body and without cognitive memory, he struggled for a few years being cared for by family, friends and a ‘drop visits only’ care agency. Ian was unhappy and felt as if his life was slipping away and he had no control over the things around him.

This all changed when his sister applied for DP for him and for the first time enabled him to recruit and employ his own team of carers, with the support and guidance of Payroll Masters, who also then set him up with his payroll and took care of all his employment contracts and staff management matters. Today Ian lives confidently in his own flat, with his 24-hour care support.

This is what Ian said. “Without the friendly and professional support, I have received over the years from Payroll Masters, I would not have been able to live independently and would be in a residential home. They are always at hand when my staff manager needs any advice and in the last four years, my staff have never been paid even a day late.

Payroll Masters’ timesheets are simple to understand and they explain technical matters to me and my staff in simple ways which are easy to understand. They always go the extra mile and are not just interested in the work they do for me, but rather in me as a person and how my life is.

Every time I have a question, they always answer it fully and leave me understanding everything. They are the best, I would be lost without their wonderful service.”

We are really delighted that Ian is doing so well and we wish him many more years of happy independent living.

The launch of the new Childcare Choices website means millions of parents, including your employees, are now able to pre-register for the government’s new childcare offers.

Childcare Choices brings together all the government childcare offers for the first time, helping parents find the right childcare support to suit them. Two new schemes that are being introduced during 2017 are Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare.

The introduction of Tax-Free Childcare will begin on 28 April, for parents of the youngest children. It will be gradually rolled out over 2017 – cutting childcare costs by up to £2,000 per child per year, or up to £4,000 for disabled children, for working parents across the UK.

The new 30 hours free childcare offer will be available in England for working parents of three and four year olds from September 2017. Parents will be able to apply in advance of September.

The Childcare Choices website includes a Childcare Calculator so parents will be able to compare the government’s childcare offers and check what works best for them and their families. Through the site your staff can also pre-register for email alerts that will notify them when they can apply this year.

Childcare vouchers (Employer Supported Childcare) will remain open to new applicants until April 2018 with parents already registered able to continue using it for as long as you offer it. Tax-Free Childcare, operated directly by parents, will be open to more than twice as many parents as childcare vouchers.